All posts tagged ‘lookism’

I had lunch recently with a group of friends, all highly accomplished and creative women. The discussion zipped along in fascinating directions, that is, until we were given menus. Although most entrées were described by what had been subtracted—low-fat, vegan, dairy-free—that didn’t stop my friends from gasping about what they’d like to order, but wouldn’t unless they wanted to be “bad.” In this case, “bad” meant consuming actual food like potatoes.

Enough already. There’s far too much energy expended on diets and appearance, energy we could use to enjoy our lives. It reminds me of a blog post I read a while ago that questioned why we do this to ourselves. Or why marketers impose this on us. In that post Erin Nieto asked why weight, not idealized weight but real weight, is such a taboo. She wrote,

I wonder what would change if this taboo were lifted—how our thinking as a culture might change if someone’s weight were a comfortable topic, or at least an open secret. Would this involuntary reflex of shame be lifted?

That post became a book titled How Much do you Weigh? Each page shows real women and their weight. An assortment of photos may seem simple, but such pictures are liberating. They remind us a number on a scale doesn’t determine our worth as individuals. Particularly in an era when girls think their looks mean everything they need the grown women in their lives to demonstrate greater freedom from such oppressive attitudes.

Next time I go out with my friends, I’m bringing this book. I know it will spark some great conversation. And maybe we’ll be brave enough to tell each other the number that has too much control over our lives. The stigma lifts one person at a time.

“You can’t be what you can’t see,” Marie Wilson, founder of The White House Project, explains in this powerful film. Yet the media preaches that a woman’s value is found in beauty and sexuality rather than in her leadership abilities. What can be done? This revealing documentary has some answers. It premieres Oct. 20th at 9/8 central on OWN. Filmmakers suggest hosting a house party to watch and discuss it together. The film’s site is packed with resources and ideas for empowering youth. Here are some some of the issues raised by Miss Representation.

Women hold only 3% of clout positions in the mainstream media (telecommunications, entertainment, publishing and advertising).

Women comprise 7% of directors and 13% of film writers in the top 250 grossing films.

The United States is 90th in the world in terms of women in national legislatures.

Women hold 17% of the seats in the House of Representatives (the equivalent body in Rwanda is 56.3% female).

Women are merely 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs.

About 25% of girls will experience teen dating violence.

The number of cosmetic surgical procedures performed on youth 18 or younger more than tripled from 1997 to 2007.

Among youth 18 and younger, liposuctions nearly quadrupled between 1997 and 2007 and breast augmentations increased nearly six-fold in the same 10-year period.